Taylor Fritz’s Miami Open campaign came to an end following a surprising semi-final defeat.
The 27-year-old was building momentum in Florida following an underwhelming start to his 2025 season.
Fritz’s trip to the last four was the best performance of the season so far, and he looked to be set for a final showdown with Novak Djokovic.
But Jakub Mensik had other ideas, as the teenager stunned the home favourite to reach his first Masters 1000 final.
Taylor Fritz describes what Jakub Mensik did in their Miami Open semi-final which surprised him
Taylor Fritz and Mensik produced a serving masterclass at the Miami Open, as both players won at least 80% of their first serve points.
The American hit 10 more winners than his opponent, but he hit over 20 unforced forehand errors, which proved costly especially when trying to break Mensik’s serve.
Ultimately it was the tie breaks in which Fritz came up short, as Mensik claimed both the first and third sets to seal a stunning 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4) victory.
There were some key points in the deciding set breaker, one of which came when Mensik produced a stunning backhand down the line to go ahead 5-4, before winning the next two points to win the match.
This stunned Fritz and he admitted post-match: “Especially at the end, I saw how tight he was hitting some of his shots and I think it almost made me think let’s not take a risk, let’s just out solid him.
“I have won so many matches in my life responding to someone being a little nervous and then just buckling down and telling myself I am not going to miss, I am going to out solid him, there is no point in me pulling the trigger and giving him a freebie, let’s just play.
“I am almost got faked out a bit after the return he hit at 4-4. I didn’t hit a good return and then he hit back so tight I thought okay I can just rally and no real problem here and then he hit a backhand down the line.
“After the first ball he hit I didn’t think there was any chance he was going to pull the trigger on the second.”
Jakub Mensik looks ahead to the Miami Open final against Novak Djokovic
Mensik secured the biggest win of his career and hit an impressive 25 aces in the process.
The Czech player is the third youngest behind Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz to reach the Miami Open final, and he will have a tough task when he plays Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian won their only previous meeting at the 2024 Shanghai Masters, but Mensik is relishing the chance to face the 24-time Grand Slam champion once again.
“It feels incredible,” Mensik said about beating Fritz. “For me it was a dream to play against him in Shanghai. For now it’s a bit different.
“I am a better player now and I’m going to enjoy and it’s going to be really exciting. Let’s see what’s going to happen Sunday.”
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